


'Round the Clock

by orphan_account



Series: Christmas 2015 Song Prompts [12]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst on the Horizon, Christmas, Christmas Prompts 2015, Domestic arguments, Multi, Polyamory - M/F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-18
Updated: 2015-12-18
Packaged: 2018-05-07 12:23:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5456426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maybe things aren't as idyllic as they'd want it to be, but maybe they can fake it for a while.</p>
            </blockquote>





	'Round the Clock

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt:** Jingle Bell Rock  & Runaway Swan Thief by Cool Cat Anon
> 
> This was more of an experiment - less fluffy than the last one for them and I'm attempting to be canon compliant.

"I can't believe you were gonna do it," Lily hisses under her breath, fishing through a box of half broken bulbs they'd hauled out of the drive last week. "And I thought **_I_** was a jinx."

Neal runs a hand through his hair, used to it being longer than his recent cut. "It sounded like the only way to get her to her family."

" _We're_ her family."

"You know what I mean, Lil." Neal sighs as the brunette on the floor threw a string of lights to him.

"Don't  _Lil_ me. You were gonna walk away from her because  _Pinocchio_ told you to. Someone known for lying. If I hadn't been there to stop you from making the biggest dumbass decision of your  _life…"_

"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?"

"I'm not the one you have to apologize to. I'm not the one you were gonna screw over."

" _Lily."_ Neal replies, falling to the ground beside Lily, Christmas decorations thrown aside, "I thank my lucky stars that you were there. I would've made the biggest mistake of my life. Thank  _you_ for slapping some sense into me. For being smarter. I'm not used to being able to...deal with this."

"A couple hundred years of repression will do that to you, huh?" Lily recedes

"Doesn't make it right."

"We've got a plan," Lily says. "We'll tell Emma. Later. When she can handle it. And then I'll go there with her. I'll meet my dragon-bitch mother, she'll fulfil her destiny. You get to stay here with the kid. Win-win-win. I mean, we're still keeping stuff from her. But she'll forgive us…" Lily presses her lips together and looks up to Neal. "Right?"

Neal isn't so sure. Emma's headstrong and, frankly, has every right to walk away considering...everything. But Lily's beseeching him; and it's so out. He needs to find a way for this to work. So he nods. "I hope so."

Lily nods, slowly. Hearing Emma trudge out of the bedroom and seal herself across the hall in the bathroom, she whispers, "Let's put it away for now. Put something up and…pretend to be normal for a little while."

 

* * *

 

 

Things had been...heavy for a little while. Emma wasn't sure exactly what'd happened. Ever since she'd returned those watches for Neal, there had been some sort of tension between Neal and Lily. She'd caught them in more screaming matches lately than she had in all their time as a trio. But it wouldn't do any good to talk about it, not with those two. And so, she had to let it slide.

But at least it was cooling off, lately. They'd settled in, got a small townhouse in British Columbia. It wasn't Tallahassee, but they were together and despite the tension between Lily and Neal, they were making it work.

Which is good, Emma thinks as she lingers by the bathroom door - one hand on her lower belly, because things are about to get a whole hell of a lot more complicated.

She emerges from the closet-sized bathroom and, to her surprise, finds both Lily and Neal staring rather intently at the wall.

"What's going on, guys?" Emma asks, a little wary that the power of morning sickness might have her seeing things.

"We're making a wall tree," Lily explains with a broad grin on her face. She moves over to the side to showcase the thin string of lights they've nailed in a zig-zag pattern up on the wall. Emma can see the attempt to make a tree was there but, unfortunately, it fell flat. "Since we can't afford a real tree. But it's our first real Christmas together. So we thought it'd be a good idea."

"So, everything's...okay with you two?" Emma asks tentatively, watching Neal stand behind Lily and kiss her neck.

"Yep," Neal says briefly, reaching forward to squeeze Emma's hand.

"We've come to an understanding," Lily agrees.

From Emma, a nod and "Good."

"Well, c'mon then," Lily turns around, oddly hollow grin slapped across her face. She turned up the re-wired radio they'd fished out of a dumpster before and began to twist. "Let's get festive."

Joining in, Neal mimicked the twisting, eventually spiraling into something utterly ridiculous with his arms and legs. Emma shakes her head fondly at their antics.

"C'mon, pick up your feet," Lily said, taking both their hands, instigating a circle between the three of them.

Emma pulls away. "I'll leave you two to it. Looks like couple's therapy."

"Suit yourself," Lily says without missing a beat, twirling Neal under her arm, hoping to keep an image of this perfect Christmas, pretending she doesn't know anything, hoping they can keep this picture of happiness as long as possible.


End file.
